The Horrors of Summer Camp
by MizzyPlatinum
Summary: *COMPLETE* Thanks to a harmless dare, an innocent stroll through the woods turns into a night they would never forget. NaLu. AU. *COMPLETE*
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima**_

 **Hi, everyone :^)**

 **This fic is a collaboration that I'm doing with** _ **Proudtobeaginger**_ **!**

 **Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

 **XOXOX**

"C'mon, guys," Cana waved her bottle of vodka all around, "It's just to lighten the mood."

"Cana," Gray exhaled. "No one wants any of that."

"And no one wants any of _that_ ," she gestured to Gray's bare chest.

"Huh—WHAT THE?" his gaze dropped downwards.

With hearts in her eyes and hands to her cheeks, Juvia cried out, "Juvia wants all of that!"

"Gahh," Gray flinched away from the strange girl, "stay away…"

"Put some clothes on, Ice Perv," Natsu grumbled as he worked on lighting the bonfire.

"Shut it, Ass Flame," Gray glowered, his hand curling into a fist.

"Natsu's right, Gray," Erza said sternly, causing Gray to flinch. "Put your shirt back on this instant."

"I would if I only knew where it went…" he muttered, scratching his head.

"Juvia is cuddling with it, Gray-sama!" Juvia gushed while clutching his shirt to her chest.

Gray let out a choking sound before tearing it out of her grasp.

"Is this big enough?" Natsu asked in referral to the fire.

"Looks good to me," Lucy commented as the blazing fire roared all around the pit. It roared a little too much actually as she watched the flames lick Natsu's arm… "Actually…can you tone it down a bit?"

Natsu shot her an incredulous look, "How do you expect me to do that?"

"I don't know!" she blushed, suddenly feeling stupid. "It's just that if the fire is too bright…we might get caught…"

"Relaxxx, Luccyyy," he grinned as he sat down on the empty space next to her on the bumpy log they were using as a bench. "You worry too much," he threw a lazy arm over her shoulder.

"You don't worry enough," she sweated-dropped, pulling away slightly.

"She's right though," Levy said. She was sitting on different log that was right next to Lucy. "If we get caught, they might kick us out of camp."

"Why are we doing this again?" Lucy timidly asked, biting her nails.

"Because it's fun!" Natsu beamed, unexpectedly pulling her in closer.

"Wah!" she squeaked, tumbling against his chest.

A blush dusted across her cheeks.

Natsu's natural campfire scent intoxicated her senses.

She could hear his rapid heartbeat.

Her own heartbeat seemed to be in sync…

"Aww!" Mira squealed, she was sitting next Cana from across the fire pit. "So cute!"

Lucy immediately jerked away with her face fully inflamed.

She shot Natsu a sideways glance and even though he acted indifferent, she could see the slight pink on his cheeks as well.

"Don't freak out, Lucy," Gray said gently. "If Erza's here then that means we aren't doing anything wrong."

She gave him a small smile, feeling slightly comforted by his words because when does Erza ever break the rules?

A strong gust blew around them, jostling up Lucy's blonde hair. "Love rival…" Juvia's voice had carried with the wind.

"So creepy," Lucy shivered.

"What is?" Natsu inquired, peering at her from his peripheral.

"Nothing," she nervously answered as she hugged her arms to her chest.

"Why do they care if we camp out in the woods anyways?" Gajeel, who was sitting next to Levy, asked.

"It's only for S-Class campers," Mira informed him. "So that's why Erza and I are here."

"So much for Gray's comforting words…" Lucy muttered, glaring at Gray, who in return, shot her an apologetic grin.

"I think Lucy needs to lighten up," Cana smirked as she stood up and walked over to Lucy with the bottle firmly in her hands. "Here."

"No thanks," Lucy put her hand up to signal _no_.

"C'mon, you know you want some!"

"Really, I don't want any, Cana," she frowned.

The bottle was, once again, shoved into Lucy's face, "Just one sip—" Suddenly the bottle was on the floor.

"She said _no_ , Cana."

"Natsu?" Lucy jolted, surprised by his action.

His tone had been nonchalant, but the had been all but nonchalant.

"What?" he blinked, crossing his arms over his chest, "It was gettin' annoying."

"Well then…" Cana winked at Lucy before going back to her place next to Mira.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucy felt lost as her brows furrowed inwards.

"Cuties," Mira giggled.

"They really are cute," Erza adoringly smiled at them from over the fire.

"Juvia wants Gray-sama to come to Juvia's rescue!" Juvia sighed, seizing Gray's arm.

"Let go," he nervously tugged his arm away, but her grip only tightened.

"Can we make s'mores already?" Natsu asked, sounding bored.

"Sure thing," Mira said cheerfully. "Here," she passed around roasting sticks and a bag of graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. "And this one's for you, Natsu."

It was chili pepper chocolate.

"YOSH!" he shot an arm into the air. "You're the best, Mira!"

"Ew," Lucy grimaced as she saw what the flavor was.

"Don't knock 'till you try it, Lucy," he said as he began to roast his marshmallow.

"I'd rather not..." she giggled as she roasted her own marshmallow right next to his.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" he chanted. "Go on fire already."

"Huh?" she cocked her head to the side.

"Always tastes better when the marshmallow is on fire," Natsu explained in tone that seemed to imply _duh_.

"If you say so…" she turned her gaze back to her marshmallow and her eyes popped out her head, "IT'S ON FIRE! WHAT DO I DO?!"

"PUT IT OUT!" Levy cried.

Lucy did as Levy said.

"I'll get some water," Erza said quickly.

"Drop it on the ground," Gajeel said gruffly. "I'll stomp on it."

"I don't think that would be a good idea, Gajeel," Gray sweated and Juvia gripped Gray even harder.

"My, my," Mira placed a hand over her mouth.

"Here," Erza pulled out a big canister of water. "Hold still and I'll pour the water on it."

"WHATTT?!" Natsu roared. "ARE YOU ALL CRAZY! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THAT DELICIOUS MARSHMALLOW! IT'S MINE!" He not-so-gently yanked Lucy's stick from her hand and brought the flaming marshmallow to his face.

"Natsu don't!" Lucy cried, reaching for the stick.

He shoved the flaming ball of fire into his mouth before she could pull it away.

"You're crazy," she ogled.

"What an idiot," Gray awed, face-palming.

"That's the salamander for ya," Gajeel shook his head with his finger pinching the bridge of his pierced nose.

"Natsu!" Erza looked panicked. "Here!" She shoved the water at him.

Natsu waved his hand as if to say _no_ _thanks_ as he swallowed. "Mannn that was tasty!" He turned towards Lucy and shot her an eye-squinting, fanged tooth grin, "Thanks, Lucy!"

"Don't mention it…" she said numbly.

And everyone resumed on with their s'mores making as though the event never happened.

 **XOXOX**

"Should we start to head back?" Lucy asked as the campfire started to die a little. "It's probably midnight by now…"

"No way," Natsu lethargically answered, resting his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, what Natsu said," Cana concurred. "We still haven't had any real fun yet."

"Real fun?" Levy pursed her lips.

"Yeah, like telling ghost stories," Natsu smirked as he lightly tickled Lucy's unsuspecting arm.

"KYA!" she jumped. "NATSU! THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" she glowered at him with great resentment.

Natsu bellowed over with laughter with his hand clutching his chest, "You-You said _Kya_!"

"Stopppp laughing!" she wailed into her palms.

But Natsu continued laughing away.

Everyone else ignored them and Gray asked, "So does anyone have any good ghost stories?"

"I do," Cana laughed. "But I'm not sure if I should tell it…"

"Why not?" Erza asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Because it's a _true story_."

Levy and Lucy let out a gasp.

"Well let's hear it," Gajeel insisted.

"Alright," Cana took a swig of her drink and licked her lips before talking. "Legend has it, that deep inside these very woods, lies a mysterious, abandoned cabin."

"That's it?" Natsu raised a brow before sarcastically saying, "Whooaaa so scary. Lucy, save me."

"I would feed you to the ghost," she grumbled.

"Oi!" Natsu complained. "That's not nice!"

"Like I care," she shrugged.

"Let me finish!" Cana shot them a dirty look. "As I was saying, there's a cabin in the woods and when it was first discovered, they found dead bodies—EVERYWHERE!"

Without realizing it, Lucy had latched on to Natsu's arm. He shot her a curious glance, but she wasn't looking.

"Apparently some guy went mad and killed anyone who went anywhere near his cabin—that includes puny campers like ourselves." Cana paused to breathe. "And they say that his insanity drove him to the point where he took his own life!"

Natsu wondered why was his heart was pounding.

Was he actually getting scared or did it have something to do with… He glanced down at Lucy, again, who was now hugging his arm even tighter-to her breasts, might he add—causing a blush to burn his cheeks.

"And now it is said that his evil spirit and the spirits of those he had killed roam these very woods, attacking anyone and anything in sight."

"That wasn't the least bit scary," Gray scoffed.

"Juvia's scared," she cried, hugging Gray, who didn't seem to mind.

"Lame as hell," Gajeel sneered, with Levy buried into his chest.

Momentarily forgetting about her own fear, a vein ticked on Lucy's forehead, _Why does everyone always tease me and Natsu, but no one ever teases Levy and Gajeel_?

"Hey!" Cana growled. "It's scary because it's true!"

"Well there's no proof," Erza pointed out.

"True," Mira nodded. "Anyone can make up a story and say it's true."

"Well then how about we go find the cabin?" Cana suggested.

Lucy trembled at that, squeezing Natsu's arm even tighter…And then she blinked.

 _When did I grab Natsu's arm?_

He wasn't looking at her though and he didn't seem to care either…

So she carried on with her tight squeezing.

"We can't leave the fire burning by itself," Erza said, pointing at the fire pit.

"And I don't feel like wandering around in a dark forest," Gray mentioned.

"So you two can stay," Cana simply said.

"Juvia is staying if Gray-sama stays."

"Alright," Cana said, "Well I'm gonna search for the cabin and, Lucy, you're coming too."

"Why me?" she let go of Natsu and stood up. "I don't want to!"

"Because I need your boobs to hold onto in case I get scared," she winked, reaching out a hand to squeeze her.

Lucy stepped back and instinctively covered her chest, "Well that _really_ makes me really want to go now!"

"I'm in," Natsu stood up. "Ghosting hunting sounds fun!"

"On what world?" Lucy looked bewildered.

"On this one," he beamed.

"I'll go too," Gajeel stood up next. "It sounds better than waiting here."

"Guess I'll go too," Levy said dryly.

"Shrimp," he turned towards the tiny girl. "You better not be holdin' onto me the whole time."

"Like I was going to!" she snapped, with her hands on her hips.

"Those two are cute too," Mira whispered to Erza.

"Agreed," Erza whispered back.

"I can hear you guys," Levy sweat-dropped.

"Alright!" Cana grinned. "So we have Lucy, Natsu, Gajeel, and Levy going. Is that right?"

"Sounds about right," Gray said. "Mira?"

"I'm gonna stay here and keep watch of the fire," she replied.

"Does that mean you're gonna come with us now, Erza?" Lucy asked, hoping the scarlet haired girl would say _yes_. She felt safer with Erza around.

"No," the girl shook her head. "Jellal was supposed to be here hours ago and I'm getting worried…I'm going to search around to see if he got lost or something…"

"Be careful!" Mira called as Erza vanished into the woods.

"Should someone go with her?" Levy inquired.

Natsu shrugged, "Erza can take care of herself."

"True," they all agreed.

And the cabin-searching group headed into the dark, dense woods.

 **XOXOX**

"OWW!" Lucy cried, tripping for the umpteenth time and falling flat on the dirt floor.

It was hard to walk through the woods at night with nothing but the moonlight as guidance... There were branches, stones, and thick tree roots all around.

"You gotta be careful," Natsu chided, reaching out a hand to help her up.

"That's funny coming from you—the most careless person I know," she jabbed, brushing off the twigs and leaves that were all over her.

"Oi!" he growled. "I'm carefully careless."

"That doesn't even make sense!" she threw her arms up.

"Yes it does!" he argued, pulling her by the shoulders so that she could face him. "It means that I'm careful at bein' careless!"

"Like I said, that doesn't make sense!" she flushed, wishing he would let go.

He leaned his head in close, "What part doesn't make sense? The careful or the careless?"

Her eyes widened at the closeness…

"Are you two done making out yet?" Cana called from far away.

Lucy pulled herself away as though he burned her. She tried to run over to Cana, but somehow, she ended up tripping once again…Except this time it was down a hill. "WAHHH!"

"LUCY!" she could hear Natsu scream.

She tumbled and tumbled as fallen branches and rocks dug into her skin.

Was this how she was going die?

"Gah!" she narrowly avoided bashing her head against a gigantic stone.

Yup, she was going to die as the world spiraled all around her.

But to her surprise, she didn't.

She let out a cry as she finally made it to the bottom of the hill.

"LUCY!" Natsu was crouching next to her within seconds.

She could hear the unevenness of his breath, meaning he ran down after her.

"Are you okay?"

"I think so," she pulled herself up to a sitting positon, but she was too dizzy. She went to topple back over, but Natsu caught her just in time and steadied her.

"You guys okay?" Levy asked, sounding just as out of breath as Natsu and trailing behind her were Gajeel and Cana.

"You sure you didn't drink anything tonight," Cana mused.

Natsu gently picked up Lucy's arm and ran his fingers up and down, checking to see if anything was broken.

"I'm fine," she breathed, thankful that no one could see her blush as she pulled her arm away from Natsu.

He carefully ran his hands through her silky hair, brushing out all the dirt.

"Thanks," she swallowed.

Cana let out a loud gasp.

"What?" Gajeel asked.

"The cabin!" she pointed to behind Lucy and Natsu and the duo whirled around to see a wooden cabin that looked like it hadn't been touched in years.

"Great," Lucy's voice trembled as Natsu checked out her other arm. "Can we go now?"

"No way!" Gajeel grinned. "I wanna check it out!"

"Let's wait until daylight," Levy suggested.

"But it's more fun at night," Natsu pointed out, cradling Lucy's leg now.

"I said I'm fine, Natsu!" she said again, now feeling more annoyed than flustered by his concern.

"Just makin' sure," he said. "Your body is probably in shock, so you wouldn't know if you broke somethin'…"

"I think I would know…" she pouted, letting him continue his full-body check.

And then he leaned his head in so close that their foreheads touched.

"Wh-What are you doing?" her pulse jumped.

"Just makin' sure your heads alright."

His warm breath tickled her cheeks.

"Oh?"

He pulled away, "You're bleeding." He gently tapped her forehead.

"It's not deep though," she stated.

He looked hesitant as he stood up, holding his hand out for Lucy.

She gratefully took it.

Despite the pain from all the scratches, she felt okay.

"So shall we?" Cana asked, growing impatient.

"I'm too scared," Levy admitted.

"Oh c'mon, Shrimp," Gajeel groaned.

"I'm too scared also," Lucy blushed.

"Boring…Let's make this interesting," Cana said. "Lucy, I dare you to go in all by yourself."

"WHAT?!" her eyes bugged. "DID YOU NOT JUST HEAR ME SAY I'M SCARED?!"

"I heard you," Cana said, "but it's more fun this way!"

"No it's not!"

"C'mon," the devilish brunette teased, "you can't turn down a dare."

"It's true," Gajeel nodded.

"But—" Lucy protested with her anxiety growing worse.

"I won't judge you if you turn down the dare, Lu-chan," Levy said sweetly.

"Thanks?" she scratched her head.

"Sooo what's it gonna be, Lucy?" Cana smirked.

"I'll…" she snapped her eyes closed, not believing what she was about to say, "do it."

"Atta girl!" Cana whooped.

Lucy opened her eyes slowly, taking in deep, calming breaths—which weren't doing anything—and trudged her way over to the cabin.

Her whole body quivered and shook along the way.

She was afraid.

 _Terrified_ was more like it…

Was it darker over here or was it her imagination?

 _Calm down, Lucy_ … she inwardly commanded.

She made it over to porch when suddenly a voice called out.

"That's not fair."

Her head whipped around to see a scowling Natsu.

"Thank you, Natsu," she let out a sigh of relief.

"Because I wanna go in first!" he growled.

Lucy's eye twitched, "I take back the _thank yo_ u _._ "

"Fine," Cana shrugged as she threw an uncaring hand up in the air, "Natsu go join Lucy."

 **XOXOX**

* * *

 **~this chapter was written by me~**

 **Ahh I hope you all enjoyed this :0**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AHH I'M SO GLAD YOU ALL LIKE THIS SO FAR!**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **X** **OXOX**

"What!?" Lucy shouted not believing what she just heard. "Why does he have to go with me?!"

"Would you rather go by yourself?" Cana smirked, taking another swig of her alcohol already knowing the answer. She watched as the blonde huffed a breath and crossed her arms over her large chest.

"I'd rather not go at all." Lucy protested, not understanding why out of all the people here she was volunteered to go. An arm wrapped around her shoulder, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Come on Luce!" It was Natsu being as cheerful as ever, his signature grin planted on his lips. "It's always more fun when we're together, right?"

Lucy growled lowly at his comment, knowing he was using his words to sway her decision. Thinking rationally, the blonde knew she was outnumbered in this and no matter what Natsu was going in there, undoubtedly going to drag her in there anyway. She sighed in defeat, feeling the pride radiating off of Cana.

"Yeah yeah, lets go already." Lucy voice shook, not going unnoticed by Natsu. Though she was just focusing on the fear she felt, all of it washed away when a warm hand slipped into hers. Lucy looked down, seeing that the mysterious heat was coming from Natsu. Looking up, she seen Natsu slightly turned away from her, scarf hiding the blush on his cheeks.

"If you're that scared, just don't let go of my hand, okay?" He spoke in a gentle voice, making Lucy's cheeks heat up. She squeezed his hand slightly.

"Okay."

"Aww, how cute." Cana commented, smirking at the two teens. "Just remember, if you two have sex you're probably gonna die."

"We're not doing that!" Natsu and Lucy shouted in unison at the drunk. They heard Gajeel scoff at the scene.

"Yeah, Salamander doesn't even know where to touch a girl at."

"SHUT UP LUG NUT!" Natsu yelled ready to pounce on Gajeel when he felt Lucy tug him away from the teasing group.

"Come on, let's get this over with." She reasoned with him. Natsu let out a growl and an angry glare at the dark haired male before following Lucy.

"You guys have to stay in there at least ten minutes!" Cana told them.

"Have fun Lu-chan!" Lucy heard Levy call out to them as her and Natsu made it into the abandoned cabin.

 **XOXOX**

"Wow, guess this place wasn't called abandoned for nothin'." Natsu pointed out as he opened the creaky door for himself and Lucy. Walking inside, the two shined their flashlights in the dark cabin, knowing exactly why this place was uninhabited. Cots were overturned everywhere, broken toys and glass scattered all over the floor, bookshelves were knocked over as well as stains on the floor.

Lucy felt goosebumps running up her arms. "I-I don't like this Natsu."

"Relax Luce! Nothing bad is going to happen-" Lucy screamed when the door slammed behind the two, enclosing them inside the cabin. Natsu used his free hand to rub the back on his head nervously, even though it did spook him a bit.

"Lucy, it was just the wind chill."

"Natsu the wind isn't even blowing!" Lucy replied, feeling tears build up in the back of her eyes.

He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Luce, come on. As if I'd let someone else bad happen to you tonight."

The blonde looked over at him, pointing her flashlight in a direction that enabled her to see his face. As usual, the comforting smile and trusting aura were clad on him. She bit her lower lip.

"O-Okay."

The two walked further into the darkness, relying on their flashlights to see everything. Shining his flashlight in every direction, Natsu's eyes spotted something on the ground. He was about to walk over to it when he remembered that Lucy's hand was tightly intertwined with his. "Luce, let go of my hand for a minute."

Lucy's eyes went wide. "Why?!"

"I think I found something cool!" He reasoned. "I'll be right back, promise!"

Hesitantly, Lucy let go on the males hand not moving a muscle. She watched as she walked over to an overturned cot, seeing the item he was talking about.

It made her blood run cold.

It was an ax. A bloody ax at that. Lucy's stomach churned as she seen the dried blood caked on the item.

"Shit…" She heard as Natsu inspected the item. "Makes Cana's story seem true."

As if on cue, there was banging throughout the house. Making Lucy squat down with her hands on her head and scream, the tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Lucy!" Natsu ran over to her, forgetting his own fear as he watched the blonde hunch over in fear. He bent down, throwing his arms around her as the banging on the walls continued. "Calm down! Its just Cana, Gajeel and Levy!"

"How do you know?!"

"Because those idiots will go at any lengths to scare us." Natsu commented as the banging finally died down. He felt Lucy still shaking in his arms so he decided to rub his hand up and down her back in a comforting manner. "Come on Luce, we're almost done."

"I'm staying right here until these ten minutes are up." Lucy stubbornly said, standing up once again still hugging herself.

Natsu sighed getting up. "Fine, suit yourself. I'm going to explore this place more."

"You already found a murder weapon, what else could their possibly be?"

" _Theres so much more to be seen."_ Lucy screeched, nearly jumping out of her skin as she felt the cold rush of wind accompanied by the whispered voice.

Natsu looked at her questionably. "Whats wrong Lucy?!"

"You d-didn't hear that?"

"Hear what?

"That voice… I heard a voice tell me there's so much more to be seen. And it just got… real cold all of a sudden." Suddenly, Lucy's flashlight lost power, making her screech once again.

"Hey Luce it's okay! Your batteries were probably bad or somethin'."

"They were new batteries Natsu. How can they go bad in less than a half an hour?!"

"You have a wild imagination Luce. First the voice and now this? Maybe that's why you're gonna be an author."

"Natsu, I'm being serious!" She shouted, mildly hurt that he didn't believe her.

"Lucy come on, I bet if there was a voice I would have heard it too."

" _Do you hear my voice now?"_ The two teens stiffened with fear. Lucy recognized the voice didn't rush by her like it had the last time, it actually had a source. Body trembling, she looked to the back of the cabin. Her heart stopped at the sight.

"Who the hell is there?!" Natsu shouted, sounding as brave as he could with his shaking form. He heard the whisper this time, feeling guilty for not believing Lucy in the first place. "Gajeel, this isn't funny!"

"N-Natsu… l-look…"

He heard Lucy's stuttering voice through his ears. Using his flashlight, he seen the direction she was looking in. His body twisted, sights set on the back of the cabin.

His eyes widened.

His heart rate accelerated.

There standing was what looked like a man. He was clothed in all black, blending in with the shadows of the night. He had the worn out ax in his clutches.

Natsu's flashlight began to dim until it was fully pitch black in the cabin.

A cold wind rushed by the teens along with the same demonic whisper.

" _Two more children to add to my collection."_

 **XOXOX**

* * *

 **~This chapter was written by _Proudtobeaginger~_**

 **Thank you all so much for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Just to clarify any confusion, every odd numbered chapter will be written by me and every even numbered chapter will be written by** _ **Proudtobeaginger**_ **.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for being nice!**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

 **XOXOX**

" _Two more children to add to my collection."_

After what felt like a lifetime, their eyes adjusted to the darkness. Lucy trembled in fear as her eyes focused on the terrifying figure in front of them.

The apparition crept closer, moving at an eerily slow pace.

"Na-Natsu," Lucy whimpered, clutching the boy's arm, "I think we should run—" Suddenly he jerked his arm out of her grasp.

"RAAAAAAAAAAA!" he charged for the apparition. "YOU REMIND ME OF THAT STUPID ICY BASTARD!"

"Natsu!" she clasped her hands against her mouth and watched in pure horror as Natsu collided with the crazy ax murderer.

"WAHH!" The apparition dropped the ax to floor, surprised by the sudden attack.

"YOU STUPID," Natsu punched him. "Ugly," he punched him again, "BASTARD!"

"Ughhh!" the thing moaned as he smacked the floor thanks to the last punch.

Anger flooded throughout Lucy as she ran over to them, "How dare you try to scare us!" She jutted her foot out. "LUUCCYYY—"

The apparition rolled on to his side and stuck his hands up to plead, "LUCY, DON'T!"

"—KICK!" Her foot collided into the thing's ribs, causing him to fly back into the wall of the cabin.

"Nice one, Lucy!" Natsu shot her a pointy-tooth grin and held his hand up for a high five.

Lucy proudly grinned back and high fived him, "Thanks, Natsu!" Then she turned her gaze back to the unconscious ax guy. "What should we do about him?"

"Hmmm," Natsu rubbed his chin, glancing around the cabin "Oh! I know!" His face lit up as he reached down and picked up the ax. "Let's hack him into pieces! MWAHAHA!" Natsu made the swinging motions.

"Ummm…" she sweated nervously, placing her hands up in defense, "I don't think we should…"

"Ughhhh THE HELL!?" the creature groaned as he pulled himself up. "YOU GUYS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE RUNNING SCARED! NOT ATTACKING ME!"

"That voice!" Natsu snapped his head in the thing's direction.

"GRAY?!" Lucy gaped.

Gray pulled back his black hoodie and rubbed his sore ribs, "Yeah?"

"What are you doing?!" she bewilderedly wailed.

"Trying to scare you guys, obviously," he sighed rubbing his eyes, "but stupid Flame Brains ruined that."

"Heh," Natsu haughtily smirked, "like you could ever scare me!"

"That's funny 'cuz you looked ready to piss yourself five minutes ago," Gray smirked back.

"Did not!" Natsu shoved his head into Gray's face.

"Did too!" Gray shoved his head even closer to Natsu's face.

"DID NOT!"

"DID TOO!"

"DID NOT!"

"SHUT UP!" Lucy roared and then she glowered at Gray, with her hands curled into fists by her hips, "Why were you trying to scare us?"

"Because it sounded like fun and everyone else was in on it," he shrugged. "Cana came up with the story…Mira and Erza discovered the abandoned cabin...Levy and Juvia came for the fun and Gajeel and I fought for the roll of the Ax Murderer, but I ended up winning… It was the perfect set up."

Lucy ogled at the boy while Natsu stood there with a grim expression on his face and his arms crossed over his chest

"You guys did all this to scare us?" she dumbly asked.

"Originally it was supposed to be only you, Lucy," Gray stated. "But Mira predicted Natsu would volunteer to join you."

"Mira!" Lucy's cheeks instantly flared up. "She's starting that shipping nonsense again?!"

"Oi!" Natsu awed. "I didn't know Mira was a psychic!"

Gray and Lucy simultaneously face-palmed.

"Anyways," Natsu was back to scowling, "How come I wasn't _in_ on the plan to scare Lucy!?"

"Because you're annoying," Gray sneered.

"OI!" Natsu raised a fist up. "IF ANYONE'S ANNOYING, IT'S YOU! BESIDES, I'M—!"

"So wait," Lucy interrupted Natsu and looked at Gray, " _you_ were the _one_ who was making those banging noises?"

"Yup," he grinned proudly.

"And you were the one talking in that whispery voice?"

"Whispery voice?" Gray blinked.

"Yeah." Why did he looked confused? Lucy was starting to feel uneasy, "you said, _there's so much more to be seen_."

"No I didn't," Gray frowned.

"Wh-What?" she choked.

"Stop tryin' to scare her," Natsu glared at him. "You've done enough of that for the night."

"I'm not!" Gray threw his arms up. "I have no idea what she's talking about!"

"What about the flashlight?" she hastily asked. "How did you make it die?"

"I didn't," he said, scratching the back of his neck, "I just assumed Natsu turned it off…"

"So-So-So," Lucy stuttered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Calm down, Lucy," Natsu pattered her back. "You're just bein' paranoid."

"What he said," Gray awkwardly coughed.

"I guess you're right—OW!" someone yanked at her hair. "NATSU!" she punched the boy's arm.

"OW! WHY'D YOU DO THAT?!" he glowered at the girl.

"You pulled my hair!" she growled.

"It wasn't me!" he claimed.

"Gray?" Lucy turned towards the other boy, though it was hard to see in the dark lighting, she could sort of make out his perplexed expression.

"Wasn't me."

"OWW!" something pulled her hair _again_. "Quit it, Natsu! It's not funny!"

"I swear it's not me!" he snapped at her, starting to get irritated.

"OW! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Lucy thumped him on his head.

"OW, LUCY!" he fumed.

"Just stop, Natsu," Gray exhaled. "You're not funny."

"I swear it wasn't me!" Natsu continued denying and then he was shoved him forwards, "OW! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, LUCY, SO STOP HITTING ME!"

"I DIDN'T HIT YOU THAT TIME!" Lucy shrieked.

"Was it you, Ice Brains?" Natsu seethed at Gray.

"No!"

"Guys," Lucy whispered, while lightly touching Natsu's forearm, "Can we get out of here?"

"Sure," Gray said. "I've been in here for too long waiting for you guys anyway."

"Aww," Natsu pouted as they walked towards the front door, "I wanted to explore some more…Haunted houses are cool."

"It's not really haunted, Natsu," Lucy said to him, but it was more to convince herself, "Cana made it all up…"

"But still…" he sighed.

Gray turned the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge, "C'mon," he grunted, turning the knob some more.

"Grayyy, open it already!" Lucy pleaded, her anxiety was through the roof.

"I…can't!" his jaw clenched. "It's locked or somethin'."

"Tch, like we would fall for that," Natsu scoffed. "You ain't foolin' us for a second."

"I'm not fooling around!" Gray exclaimed, gesturing toward the door, "I can't get it to open!"

"Lemme try," Natsu shoved Gray out of the way, causing Gray to shoot him a look of disdain. "C'mon, open!" Natsu fumbled all around with the knob, but, alas, nothing happened. Then he rammed his shoulder into it, but again, nothing happened.

Pure fear washed over Lucy.

They were trapped.

"It's probably Cana and the others pulling another prank," Gray hypothesized, though sounding unconvinced.

"Let's try the window," Natsu suggested.

Gray ran over to the nearest one, trying to pull it upwards to open it, "It…won't…budge!" he groaned as he continued to push against it.

"Move," Natsu commanded as he picked up the ax. Gray did as he said and watched as Natsu swung it against the window, again and again and again, until finally there was a crack. "YOSH! It cracked!"

"Great!" Lucy was finally starting to feel relieved until a cold, icy breath breathed against her ear and so gently whispered, " _Pretty girl with pretty hair."_

And once again, her hair was tugged.

"KYYYAAAAA!" Lucy screamed on the top of her lungs as she bolted towards Gray.

"Lucy!" Natsu nearly dropped the ax as he whirled around to look for her.

She was cowering against Gray chest.

"What's wrong?!" Gray asked, awkwardly rubbing her back.

"There's someone here!" she wailed into his shirt. "He-He whispered in my ear. I felt his breath…"

"OI!" Natsu roared with the ax ready in his hand, "COME ON OUT, YOU BASTARD! WE KNOW YOU'RE HERE!"

A loud _BANG_ rang throughout the cabin.

"Wha-What was that?" Gray asked, clutching Lucy tighter against his chest.

"Sounded like a door," Lucy replied in a hush tone, her body was quivering so badly…

Natsu moved next to them.

Cold sweat dripped down Natsu's forehead…

He was losing his grip on the ax thanks to how sweaty his palms were.

Silence hung between, as though they were expecting to hear something else.

A chill filled the silence…

And then _BOOM_ followed by a streak of light that lit up the windowsill.

Lucy let out a scream and Natsu and Gray jumped.

"Thunder and lightning," Natsu muttered.

And then repetitive, rapid pounding beat against the roof of the cabin.

"Rain," Gray stated.

Lucy pulled away from Gray and looked towards Natsu, "Maybe…Maybe you should keep hitting the wind—"

"LUCY!" Natsu pulled her against him just in time as something whooshed past her head, narrowly missing her, and smashed against the wall.

It sounded like glass.

"The hell!" Natsu cried, clutching her to his chest. Despite the situation, she found herself calming down…There was just something soothing about being in Natsu's, warm, muscular arms…. "If this is Cana or that stupid metal head guy, you better cut it out! It ain't funny!"

Her brief minute of peace in Natsu's arms had ended abruptly as whispery laughter rang all around them.

"What the…" Natsu choked.

"Sounds like children…" Lucy nervously swallowed. Tears welled up in her eyes as chills ran up and down her spine.

"Shit," Gray murmured.

"Some-Someone coulda gotten hurt by that!" Natsu's voice wavered.

" _Someone coulda gotten hurt by that_ ," a voice—that sounded like a little girl—mocked.

" _Someone coulda gotten hurt by that_ ," a deeper voice mocked.

" _SOMEONE COULDA GOTTEN HURT BY THAT."_ The voice…it sounded _demonic…_

"Natsu!" Lucy buried her face into his scarf. "What should we do!?"

" _Yeah, Natsu, what should we do?_ " the deep, demonic voice whispered into his ear.

He jolted, looking all around, hoping to find Cana or Gajeel or someone…This had to be some sick prank, right? Yes, Gray must still be pranking them…

Gray crept closer to Natsu and Lucy.

Natsu's blood ran cold by the action, because this meant that _Gray was scared_.

The children-voices were back as they sang, " _You're all going to dieee, you're all going to dieee, you're all going to dieee."_

 _BOOM!_

Another clap of thunder shuddered throughout the cabin.

Lucy let out a whimpering noise and Natsu muttered a curse.

Gray let out a sputtering noise, "Do you guys see that?" He pointed towards the window.

Natsu sucked in a breath.

There was a tall, shadowy figure, staring into the window Natsu had cracked, looking directly at them.

Lucy lifted her head up and peeked over to see what the others were looking at and her eyes grew wide as she audibly swallowed, "It's _watching_ us…"

It lifted up a long, claw-like finger and touched it to the glass. Slowly, it scratched down the window like nails on a chalkboard.

"GAHH!" The three of them slammed their hands to their ears, cringing.

The glass began to shatter.

"RUN!" Gray yelled and the three of them took off.

Natsu clasped Lucy's hand into his as they moved deeper into the house.

They all took turns stumbling over unknown objects, but no one slowed down for a second.

"There has to be another way out!" Natsu panted as they ran into the first room they saw.

It was a bedroom.

The door slammed shut, causing the three to jump.

" _There's no way out_ …" they heard a little girl giggle from behind.

The three of them slowly turned around.

" _You're all going to die._ "

 **XOXOX**

* * *

 **~This chapter was written by me~**

 **Hope it was creepy enough for ya!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Muehehe welcome to the final chapter of this lovely fanfic! I truly enjoyed reading all your reactions :')**

 **And thank you so much for being patient and supportive!**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

 **XOXOX**

The door slammed shut, causing the three to jump.

" _There's no way out_ …" they heard a little girl giggle from behind.

The three of them slowly turned around.

" _You're all going to die._ "

Three—no _four_ earsplitting screams filtered throughout the silently creaking cabin as Lucy, Natsu, and Gray jumped into a group hug, staring in terror at a little girl with pigtails, in a draping white gown, splattered with dark stains—probably blood. Her face was pale and with fright as she screamed along with them.

"WHY IS THE GHOST SCREAMING?!" Natsu wailed, clutching them all tighter.

"WHO CARES WHY IT'S SCREAMING!" Gray wailed back.

Little girl? Pigtails? Wait a second—Lucy jerked out of Natsu and Gray's hug. "WENDY?!"

"I'M SORRY!" the supposed ghost-girl sobbed.

"EHHH?!" Gray and Natsu exclaimed, looking from the girl to each other in pure shock. "WENDY?!"

"Wahhhh!" Wendy cried out, burying her face into her palms, "I'm so sorry! I didn't want to do it!" she sheepishly shuffled her feet, "…but it sounded like fun."

"'Sounded like fun,' she says," Gray muttered to Natsu, pulling away from their bear-tight hug with a look of pure disgust.

"Some fun," Natsu grumbled, crossing his arms. He leaned down, leering at the girl, "Oii, Wendy, who the hell put you up to this?!"

"Yeah!" Gray growled, "How come I was getting pranked too?! Wasn't it supposed to be just Lucy and Assflame getting pranked?!"

"No, not exactly," Wendy said, shaking her head. "It was supposed to be just you and Natsu actually."

"WAIT! WHAT?!" Gray's droopy eyes bugged out in astonishment. "WHY AM I GETTING PRANKED?!"

"Why the hell was I the main target?" Natsu bitterly murmured while Lucy moaned, slapping her forehead. "Why was _I_ dragged into this?"

"Well…" Wendy shyly tied her hands behind her back, gnawing on her lower lip. Probably debating whether or not to tell them. "Erza was upset...that you guys ruined her strawberry shortcake and Cana was upset that you guys broke all her bottles of alcohol, and umm Gajeel just loves messing around with you two!"

"The hell?" Natsu's pink brows knitted together. "I don't remember any of that!"

"Me neither," Gray grunted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Of course you guys don't," Wendy smiled innocently. "You two were too busy brawling to notice the damage you had caused."

The two boys opened their mouths, ready to protest, but then shut them, awkwardly rubbing the back of their heads as realization set in.

"But why was I forced into this?!" Lucy cried out with her arms flailing about.

"Well that part was Mira's idea," Wendy said, squirming around. "Like Gray told you before, Mira knew Natsu would follow you in so she was hoping you two would confess in the heat of the moment…"

"Confess?" Natsu tasted the words on his tongue, looking at Lucy with narrow eyes, causing her face to heat up.

"Wh-Why are you looking at me like that?"

But Natsu didn't say anything, continuing to make the girl nervous under his intense stare.

"Wait so let me get this straight," Gray said, rubbing his temples. "Lucy was Natsu's lure inside and Natsu was _my_ lure because you all knew I wouldn't pass up a chance to scare the idiot?"

"Correct," Wendy said, looking guilty. "Sorry again!"

"So if that little girl was you," Natsu said carefully, staring past the doorway. "Then who's the weirdo over there?"

"Huh?" everyone turned slowly, following Natsu's gaze to see a tall, ghostly-looking figure that had originally been outside the cabin, clawing at the window. It was staring straight at them from hallway.

Briefly, Lucy wondered when the door to the bedroom they were in had reopened, but the thought left her mind as she watched it take a step towards them. She let out a small whimper, unable to help the fear that was burning through her veins.

Natsu reacted instantly, pulling Lucy behind him, but making sure he kept a firm, comforting hand on her wrist, igniting a flame inside her heart. Even though he was afraid as she was tonight, Natsu still did all he could to keep her safe and that made her want to turn to goo—if it weren't for the fact that some monster was coming for them…

Gray followed Natsu's lead, but with Wendy instead, making sure the small girl was right behind him and said, "Ready to attack, Natsu?"

"Tch, I'm always ready to attack, Ice Princess," Natsu grinned and then released his hold on Lucy, charging for the creature in front of them.

"Oii, I wanted to be the one who attacks first!" Gray cursed, following right after the boy.

"Waittt!" Wendy shouted, "Don't—" But it was too late.

The ghoul was under attack by Gray and Natsu—well it managed to dodge each punch, ducking just in time while crying out, "Stop! Natsu! Gray! Cut it out! It's me!"

The boys halted, sharing a look of suspicion before Natsu reached out and started to tug off the scary demon mask, "Alright, let's see which asshole you are."

The air in the room was still with anticipation, Lucy was chewing harshly on her nails as Wendy sweatdropped, knowing exactly who was under the mask, but no one seemed to want to listen to her.

Suddenly, the mask came off and everyone gasped.

A weird tribal tattoo and a puff of blue hair, trademark of someone none other than— "JELLAL?!"

"You're in on this too?!" Lucy shrieked. Why would Jellal be in on this weird scheme?

"Sorry!" he laughed nervously. "Erza made me do it and besides…It sounded…kinda fun…"

"And to think I thought you were a good person," Gray scolded while Natsu gave Jellal a nice right hook, "THAT'S FOR TRYIN' TO SCARE US!"

"Oww," he groaned, rubbing his sore cheek.

"So how did you guys do the creepy whispering stuff?" Natsu asked, meticulously looking around in case others decided to pop out at them.

"And how did you guys make objects move?" Gray inquired.

"And what about all that hair pulling?" Lucy wondered, subconsciously smoothing her frazzled hair.

Wendy and Jellal looked at one another before saying, "What are you guys talking about?"

"All we did was dress up and chase you guys…"

Natsu, Gray, and Lucy all gulped loudly. There was no way the stuff that had happened to them hadn't been caused by their troublesome friends, right?

"Maybe the place really is haunted," Jellal said, his voice sounding oddly distant as he peered around the place, sending a chill up everyone's back.

"Can we please get out of here now?!" Lucy whined, feeling something tug on her hair once more. She really needed to leave before she died from fear…

And they all nodded, but as they left the cabin. The sound of laughter blew through the air before the door slammed shut.

 **XOXOX**

"Everyone's a jerk," Natsu muttered, walking Lucy back to her cabin. Though Lucy didn't really want to go back considering she would have to deal with seeing Mira, Cana, and Erza and all the others in on that stupid scheme.

"I couldn't agree more."

"They shoulda let me in on the plan!" he yelped, punching his right fist into his left palm. "I woulda scared the pants off Gray— _literally_ 'cuz he can never keep them on in the first place…"

" _That's_ what you're upset about?!" Lucy incredulously awed.

"What else should I be upset about?" he asked, looking puzzled.

"Never mind…" she halfheartedly sighed. Then she turned to him, giving him a shy look. "Well here we are…back at my cabin."

"Yep," he said, glancing over at it. "Night, Lucy!" Though it was more like morning now that the sun was starting to rise.

He went to leave and Lucy blinked. That was it? After everything that had happened he was going to leave just like that?!

"Natsuuu!" she called out, grabbing onto his forearm before he could disappear. "Waitt!"

"L-Lucy?" he gasped, looking at her hand on him. Clearly surprised by her actions. "What are you doing?"

"I-I," she bashfully looked away, pursing her lips. "I wanted to thank you for being so protective…"

"Huh?"

She wasn't exactly sure what possessed her to do this, but somehow she was leaning on her tippy toes with her heart pounding against her chest and her trembling hands clenched into small fists as she pressed her lips against Natsu's warm cheek.

She pulled back within a second, looking at Natsu's blushing face in the rising sunlight. His eyes were wide and his mouth was agape. Her stomach churned, making her feel rather uneasy as she quickly turned to run inside her cabin, but before she could flee, a warm hand grasped onto her wrist.

"Lucy…?" his voice sounded breathy, making her heart stutter.

She turned slowly and sucked in a breath. Natsu was standing right in front of her, so close she could smell his mixed scent of sweat and campfire and for some reason, she couldn't get enough of it.

He cupped his hand onto her cheek, slowly tilting her face upwards, gradually leaning his down. His warm breath tickled her nose just as his pink bangs brushed against her forehead. Lucy's breath hitched and her knees began to buckle, finding herself falling a part in a matter of seconds as Natsu closed the distance, touching his lips lightly against hers.

Maybe it was worth getting scared to death after all…

 **XOXOX**

"I knew all that fear and adrenaline would make NaLu kiss-kiss-fall-in-loveee," Mira sighed, spying through cabin window, while the others laughed at the video they had recorded of their epic prank.

"Say," Levy said, squinting at the screen, "Who's that girl pulling on Lucy's hair in this last shot?"

"Huh?" Mira quickly walked over and huddled over Levy's shoulder along with the others. "What gir—Oh my!"

And without another word, they turned off the video and carried on like nothing more than a prank had happened because maybe some mysteries were best left unsolved…

 **XOXOX**

* * *

 **~chapter written by me~**

 **Hope it was creepy enough for all of you! :')**

 **And thank you all so much for reading and for all the support!**


End file.
